Saturday, August 25, 2012

I know a lot of my blog friends have boyfriends or husbands who are into working out OR who are trying to get into better shape. I've shared a lot of my success stories, but I thought it was time I shared Big Jon's success story and take on supplements too. (Scroll down to the very bottom to see what he takes now if you don't care about reading the back story...)

When I first met Jonathan back in 2006, he was the typical college kid...eating fast food for all three meals, drinking energy drinks & soft drinks like crazy, and not working out AT all (unless you count running the bases at his slow pitch softball games). He had high blood pressure and high cholesterol (not cool for anyone, but especially not for a 22 year old!), a gut, and a major issue with acid reflux. I'm talking "2 Prilosec a day and countless Tums" issue...(I even remember helping him put phone books under his bed to elevate it and try to help with the heartburn.)

(These pics are OLLLLLD.....)

Within our first few months of dating, he started working out some in his basement and slowly cutting out Cokes. He started cutting back on the fast food & eliminating fried foods from his diet. After a year or so of us dating (with some encouragement from me) he had totally changed his lifestyle. I wasn't a nagger....I think he mostly just caught on to how I was living and wanted to be healthier too. After a couple of years, he was seriously a NEW man! A clean eating gym rat who looked better, felt better, and was overall so much healthier and more confident.

He fell in love with working out, and that became something we enjoyed doing together. It helped him release stress from work, and he liked seeing his body change and become stronger. He got really into supplements too. He was always researching and trying the "latest and greatest" supplements & pre-workouts on the market....mixing several different products.

I didn't like it because obviously the supplements at some of the popular chain "nutrition" stores aren't regulated by the FDA and ANYONE can make the supplements that end up on their shelves. About 90% of the products in those stores are a proprietary blend, which basically means you have NO IDEA what you're getting in a serving of that product.

A supplement that lists a “proprietary blend” on the bottle can be there for one of two reasons:

(a) to prevent the competition from knowing exactly what ratios and amounts of each ingredient present in the formula to prevent the competition from copying their formula exactly (commonly referred to as a ‘knock off’) or

(b) to hide the fact the formula contains very little of the active ingredients listed on the bottle in an attempt to fool consumers.

The scary part about that, like I said, is that you have NO IDEA what you're putting into your body, or how it may react with other products you're taking.

One of the products Jon took for a while recently came out with reports that it was causing people to fail drug tests because some of the substances were so closely related to a substance in ILLEGAL DRUGS!!! What?!!? Another product he was taking was called HEMO-RAGE. Yea, scary business, right?? (FYI: Hemo is short for hemodilator, which means it dilates the blood vessels and allows more blood to flow to the muscles, which gives guys the 'pump' they're looking for in the gym.)

When we found Advocare back in March, he was pretty skeptical.

In fact, I'm pretty sure his exact words were. "There's no way this is gonna work as good as my stuff, but whatever, if you want me to try it, I will."

I loved that it was backed by the top science and medical advisory board & made with the TOP quality of ingredients....but even more than that, I LOVED knowing EXACTLY what he was putting into his body. Advocare also pays for an outside company (called INFORMED CHOICE) to test for over 200 banned substances, so while the FDA won't regulate any substances, we have a reputable lab that thoroughly checks to make sure Advocare products are completely safe, free of banned substances, and effective. (This is why so many professional athletes, college athletes, and Olympic athletes are non-paid endorsers....they recognize the quality of these supplements and know they can trust putting them in their body will enhance performance, yet won't jeopardize their careers in any way.)

Check out this article from Livestrong.com that talks about some of the most common ingredients found in Advocare's products & why they are so necessary for our bodies. I wrote another post a while back about WHY we NEED supplements....If you haven't read it yet, it's definitely worth the time. I know a lot of trainers and athletes that try to "get all their nutrients from their diets," but it's just not gonna happen. Unless you're eating MASSIVE amounts of fruits, veggies, and protein every day, you are NOT getting enough of what your body needs (because food isn't made the way it used to be). Serious athletes understand supplementation is absolutely essential for optimum performance. Unfortunately, that's why so many athletes get busted for illegal substances...but thankfully that's something Advocare athletes (& my hubby!) don't have to worry about.

Anyway, I talked him into starting a 24 Day Challenge with me. He wasn't thrilled, but I reminded him that by cleansing, it would help ALL of his other supplements work more effectively because his body would be able to absorb them better. It was AWESOME to have him do it with me for accountability and encouragement, but HE ended up having AWESOME results!!

He started the products from the Performance Elite line after the challenge. I felt SO MUCH safer with him taking these, and the cool thing is, they're designed to work together (unlike all the random products he was taking before).

This is what he had to say about his results....(I typed it for him while he talked!)

"I've worked out long enough to be able to gauge my body, and I was at a plateau. Same weight, reps, fatigue level. I didn't believe in Advocare at first, but I'd tried everything else, so I figured why not. Within the first week, I noticed an improvement in my muscle endurance. I could go longer & harder in the gym. The next week I noticed my strength was increasing- I was actually starting to push more weight for more reps. I continued to notice improvements as the weeks went on, and one of my favorite things is that I was recovering faster and not as sore, yet still seeing size and strength gains. I've definitely noticed that I look leaner now and have lost some fat around my midsection. I've been on the products since March now, and haven't hit a plateau yet. It's exciting to see what's going to happen every time I walk into the gym...."

The only time he went off them was when we went to the Dominican Republic for a week, and he could totally tell a difference in working out without them.

So, here's what he takes now and is LOVING!!!

1. Mass Impact -

Aids in muscle building*

Supports muscle performance*

Helps increase physical endurance*

2. Arginine Extreme-

Provides and nourishes the precursors necessary for muscle growth and recovery*

Provides excellent support for cardio workouts*

Helps enhance strength and stamina, especially when used with AdvoCare® Muscle Fuel*

Helps your body to more effectively respond to the demands of physical activity.*

Naturally supports the production of growth-related hormones*

Enhances energy production to help the body sustain higher workloads before the onset of fatigue.*

Supports the body's ability to respond to stress such as physical training.

(regular vitamins: CorePlex, OmegaPlex, shakes, Spark, & Clear Mood)So ladies, if you're looking for something SUPER HIGH QUALITY that will help your man get results, but that you can trust are totally safe, natural, & effective, I HIGHLY recommend this!!! I know Jon seriously loves talking supplements, so I'm sure he could recommend something or would be willing to talk to whoever to answer questions. It's pretty cool we found something we both love an are passionate about, and Advocare happens to fit right in with that!

5 comments:

Most importantly how great his BP went down!! This is a wonderful example of how you really can better your loved one's life! I'm definitely taking notes for after I have baby, and I love reading your success stories. Have you done a post on your overall health {colds/flu} before and after advocare? I know especially when I taught I was always getting sick!! Just curious while on supplements and eating clean how you've been... :)

I love reading posts like this!! It's all so encouraging. I was the "eat fast food 3 meals a day and drink 10 sodas" kind of person. Since February I have been a water and spark girl and it's amazing the difference just dropping the cokes has made. I really struggle with eating healthy and finding things to make. I'm a work in progress! Thanks for sharing this!!

Did his acid reflex go away? If it did was us before or after advocare? Has it helped his acid reflex at all? I suffer from severe avid reflex and can't find anything that will bring me relief . I'm pretty healthy besides that though I workout at least 5x a week try to, try to eat clean, and I'm not overweight.

Did his acid reflex go away? If it did was us before or after advocare? Has it helped his acid reflex at all? I suffer from severe avid reflex and can't find anything that will bring me relief . I'm pretty healthy besides that though I workout at least 5x a week try to, try to eat clean, and I'm not overweight.